2020 Ford F-450 problems
Owners have filed 33 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Ford F-450. Fuel system is the most reported problem area, at 27% of complaints. After that come drivetrain & axles (12%) and electrical system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 33 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 27% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
What the data shows
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 1 injury reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2020 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the Ford F-450 with enough data (33 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The contact owned a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the steering wheel failed to steer in the intended direction. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle had driven independently sideways and then into a deep ditch before coming to a stop. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was uncontrollable. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss by the insurance company.
Unknown. So, on May 30th, 2021 my passenger side main battery blew up for no reason. I took it to Autozone and we checked the system and everything seem fine and had the correct voltage. On July 3, 2021 my truck started smoking. I pulled over, put the truck in park and shut off the truck. I looked around trying to locate the cause of the smoke but couldn’t. I opened all the doors to air out the truck. Everything seemed to be fine at the time so I got back in and started driving.
On two separate occasions, while towing a 5th wheel trailer, the tailgate opened by itself, coming in contact with the 5th wheel while turning. There was no warning or indication that the tailgate had opened. The tailgate was not opened by a person or by a bumping the keyfob -- it opened completely on its own.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the transmission experienced rough shifting. The vehicle then inadvertently decelerated and failed to exceed 50 MPH. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. The contact then drove to the residence. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there were metal shavings in the transmission and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the engine ran for several minutes before the vehicle independently shut off. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired.